We'll start by showing how to solder an SOIC component. Although we have
many different 'package' versions available (such as
SOIC/TSSOP/QFP/QFN) SOIC is the easiest to start with and its the chip I
needed to work with today so that's what we're going to do :)
We'll start by melting a little solder on one corner pad. I like going with the top right corner. Melt just a tiny bit on, so its rounded but not blobby
Next you need to place the part onto the pads, and you'll want to get the orientation right. You can look for a dot (indicating pin #1). In some cases, look for a flattened corner (on the left side here) which indicates which side is on the left
Once you've identified which is pin 1, hold the chip with the tweezers over the pads and then re-heat the corner pad you soldered onto a few steps ago.
Now you can 'fix' the chip in place by soldering in the opposite corner. The one pin you soldered will keep the chip in place mostly, so you just have to solder the other pin a little to make the setup secure
The hard part's done! Now we can solder on regular 0.1" spaced male header. We like the break-away kind so its easy to get just the right amount. (You can get some at the adafruit shop if you don't have any!)
Break two pieces the same length as the pads on either side of the PCB and place them into a breadboard, long pins down. They should be parallel and the same distance as the PCB pads so that you can place the PCB on top with ease
Break two pieces the same length as the pads on either side of the PCB and place them into a breadboard, long pins down. They should be parallel and the same distance as the PCB pads so that you can place the PCB on top with ease
